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schwit1 writes "Homeland Security plans to operate a massive new database of names, photos, birthdays and biometrics called Watchlist Service, duplicated from the FBI's Terrorist Screening Database, which has proven not to be accurate many times in the past. DHS wants to exempt the Watchlist Service from Privacy Act provisions, meaning you will never know if you are wrongfully listed. Privacy groups worried about inaccurate info and mission creep have filed a protest, arguing the Privacy Act says DHS must notify subject of government surveillance. DHS has admitted that it 'does not control the accuracy of the information in system of records' and that 'individuals do not have an opportunity to decline to provide information.' Additionally, the DHS Watchlist Service attempts to circumvent privacy protections established by the Privacy Act. Who's watching the watchers?"

Hi there! I see you are taking an active interest in this thread and as a fellow former citizen of totalitarian state let me add this:

Do you remember the "fun" we had when those files were opened after 1989? When it turned out that people have been sent to camps because of a single "whistle-blower" ratting to the police? When we discovered that friends, colleagues, neighbors and even relatives were sending "annonimus" reports to the Secret Service? Wasn't that great!! Neighbor wants to fuck your wife - write a report, get you sent to Gulag, profit!! Colleague is too smart and you feel you deserve that promotion - write a report get him fired or locked away, profit!! You just hate the guy for whatever - write report, get him locked, profit!

Before the Social Media era, they collected data through opening regular mail, wiretapping the telephones but most importantly spying on people and instigating regular Joes to spy on other regular Joes. Today, I expect the same level of human nastiness - I expect that a secret database will encourage people to rat on others. I fully expect that westerns would not show greater spirit than we did and will gladly use the opportunity to remove inconvenient people. Not to mention just plain mistakes a-la Buttle - Tuttle (sp?)